Vancouver topples Toronto as ‘Sugar Daddy’ capital

Those looking to be showered with lavish gifts and money in a “mutually beneficial” relationship should come to Vancouver, according to an online dating company.

Vancouver Sugar Daddies spend $4,307 monthly on their younger counterparts on average, more than anywhere else in the country, according to a study by “the world’s largest Sugar Daddy dating website,” SeekingArrangement.com, based on registered user information.

They’re also not as old as you might think.

“The term ‘Sugar Daddy’ is no longer reserved for the wealthy, older man,” said website founder and CEO Brandon Wade. “Rather, it is a lifestyle embodied by single men who have a genuine, vested interest in adding value to their partners’ lives.”

And nowhere do men want to add value to their partners’ lives more than in Vancouver, where Sugar Daddies spend almost $1,000 more per month than in Toronto on average, according to the study.

The study also found that Vancouver Sugar Daddies are 40 years old and make $292,506 annually, on average.

One-third of them are also sporting a wedding ring – though that number is on the decline.

According to the study, the number of married Sugar Daddies dropped from 46 to 31 per cent in the last five years.

“Last year, the number of single men joining our website doubled, reducing the number of married men who engage in this lifestyle,” Wade said.

But a Vancouver feminist said the morality issue isn’t as important as the economic truth behind the study: women make less money than men, and thus depend on the latter for financial support.

“My gut reaction is how sad it is that we still live in a world in which women are dependent on men financially in those ways,” said Kasari Govender, a spokeswoman for women’s advocacy group West Coast LEAF.

“It’s a sad statement on our culture that women, and young women in particular, are told ‘This is your worth in society, is how you look,’” she said.

Govender said she was concerned that the dating service could put women in a bad position.

“Women in this situation are vulnerable to abuse because they don’t know who these men necessarily are, and they’re financially dependent on them to pay their rent,” she said.

According to SeekingArrangement.com, Vancouver counts the highest number of Sugar Daddies per capita at 3.86 for every 1000 adult men.

Some 5,656 self-proclaimed Sugar Daddies have signed up for the online dating service in Vancouver, while more than 20,000 have registered in search of someone to share their heart – and their wallet.

The website said it has seen membership jump by more than 70 per cent in the last year.